Never Let You Go
by The All Real Numbers Symbol
Summary: She wished they could have a second chance; a place where both of them could start over. He just wished to keep her with him. Aqua Regina granted Sara's wish, and Sara granted Gaito's wish. Together, they both got a second chance. SaraXGaito
1. Prologue: Never Let You Go

**Never Let You Go**

* * *

**Rating: **T

**Genre: **General/ Family

**T.A.R.N.S.:** I am deeply depressed by the lack of SaraXGaito stories on this site. Therefore, I am going to do something about it. Here I go!

**Disclaimer:** Now I get to screw up the entire continuity of Pitchi Pitchi Pitch Pure. (Or, volumes 5-7 of the Manga, if you prefer.)

* * *

_Sara, as a mermaid princess, you have the power to sing and save Gaito's soul._

**Prologue**

The sea-shell shaped pendant opened, and an orange pearl floated out of it and into the hands of Luchia, the Pink Pearl Princess.

"Can you keep it until then?" The orange haired mermaid asked. She smiled, and then turned and began swimming back towards the sinking castle.

"Sara!" Luchia shouted.

"She's going back to Gaito." Rina, a green haired mermaid, told her.

_"There is somebody, right now, who cares about me more than anyone else. Somebody who looked at my hurting, wounded self with the same eyes that Mitsuki looked at me with... I can never leave him."_

Sitting in the throne room of the rapidly falling apart castle, Gaito stared out at what had once been a grand, if not dark, room. The room was now littered with debris, and the castle was now sinking into the depths of the ocean.

He heard her before he saw her.

_The rainbow wind, blows at the far off coast,_

Startled, he looked up and watched her walk back into the room and towards him.

_Before dawn there was a melody I heard._

_It's a very nostalgic song._

"Sara! Why!?!" He asked.

"I'm always with you." She said, and then resumed singing.

_The birds that fly towards the eastern sky_

_Now escape to the Treasure Island using this shortcut._

"Sara." He left the throne and came over to embrace her.

The building was still crumbling around them when Sara heard a voice in her head.

"_You have done well, Sara_." It was Aqua Regina.

"_Aqua Regina_," She whispered, "_I wish we could have another chance_."

"_You will, Sara, you will_."

As the castle continued to crumble, Sara felt a warm glow spreading around herself and Gaito.

"_Thank you, Aqua Regina."_

They both vanished from the castle a moment later.

When Gaito opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find that instead on being in the depths of the sea, he was laying on the beach. But there was something else. Someone's hand was in his. He looked to his left to see that the person whose hand he was holding was none other than Sara. She was lying next to him on the beach, unconscious.

And with that, he closed his eyes again.

The afternoon sun beat down on the two of them as they lay there, on a deserted beach on the island-country of Japan.

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** You know what bothers me? I wanna read SaraXGaito, but I have to write it first. This is the last thing I needed, another story to work on, but it's been sitting on the computer for eons now, so i might as well post it up and see what happens next. (Plus I've got a bunch of little parts of it floating around my mind. At least now I can get it out.) I have to figure out what kind of antagonist there's going to be, and what he/it's going to do.

Also, I'm wondering if I should make Gaito get a job. I can't find one that would fit him. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Read and Review, please.


	2. These Walls

**Never Let You Go**

**Chapter 2: These Walls**

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**T.A.R.N.S.:** Second chapter. Yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and an extra-special thanks to Shannara810, who gave me a plot and let me bounce some ideas off her. Now, let's get this show on the road!

**Disclaimer:** See the first chapter.

* * *

'Cause everybody tries to put some love on the line

And everybody feels a broken heart sometimes

And even when I'm scared I have to try to fly

Sometimes I fall,

But I've seen it done before

I gotta step outside these walls...

-Teddy Geiger, from the song These Walls

* * *

_Long ago, when the Earth was young, and the Panthalassa clan was ruled by the twin Princes, a mysterious force named Caos attacked the seas, intending to use the power of the Panthalassa clan to destroy Aqua Regina and conquer Earth._

_The Panthalassa's kingdom was protected by the seven holy warriors, two of which were the twin princes of the Panthalassa clan, and the seven mermaid princesses. The two groups vowed to fight until Caos was vanquished._

_To consummate the agreement, Aqua Regina-Sama decided to marry two of the mermaid Princesses to the rulers of the Panthalassa clan. The Pink Pearl Princess married the Panthalassa prince of light, and the Orange Pearl Princess married the Panthalassa princess of darkness._

_The Pink Princess and the light Prince were very happy together; but the Princess of the orange pearl loved a human even though the Dark Prince loved her dearly. To her, the Dark Prince was too stern, and she believed he couldn't love. But he was only shy and wanted to make his Kingdom safe and happy. He gave her a pure white pearl, his family treasure, to protect her from Caos._

_Caos sensed the Dark Prince's despair and tried to use it for his purposes, attempting to force the Dark Prince to join him, and showing the prince how he could make the Orange Princess his forever…_

_The Dark Prince tried to kill the human his princess loved so much, but he couldn't. His princess would have suffered too much. But the princess saw his attempted murder and then she shouted to him all her hate. Never, never she would love him!_

_To save his Kingdom, his brother and all the Seas, the Dark Prince chose to sacrifice himself to shut Caos in the Abyss Without End. Before he was sent in the abyss, Caos damned the Panthalassa to become the monsters the Mermaid Princesses believed they were._

_Only then, when the Dark Prince was dying, the Orange Princess understood how much he loved her and how much she loved him. She cried and cried. She hated herself for having hurt him so much and prayed to meet him again in the future. The white pearl got wet with the Dark Prince's blood and became red. From that moment, it became the Red pearl, which Aqua Regina used to shut the temple of Caos with all his monsters within._

"But, even if that was so, what does it all mean now?" Sara wondered as she looked around. She was standing in an empty white plane. There was nothing else there, and no one else around. "Is it even possible that the Mermaids and Panthalassa were once allies?"

"**It is possible, it fact, it is true."**

"Aqua Regina-Sama!" Sara exclaimed as the Ocean guardian appeared in front of her.

"**What you just saw was not a dream, but a vision of the past, a past which is about to repeat itself."** Aqua Regina told her. **"A group of human archeologists are working in the ruins of the temple that Caos was sealed away in, and they are unknowingly about to free him. When that happens, all eight princesses must be ready to stop him."**

"Eight princesses? But how can that be?" Sara asked.

"**Through the power of the Red pearl."** Aqua Regina replied. **"You are not the only one to see this dream; two other Mermaid princesses also saw it tonight. Another orange princess is about to be born, and after Caos is defeated she will be the ruler of the North Pacific sea."**

"But isn't that Lucia's kingdom?" Sara asked.

"**It is. But I will make everything right after Caos is defeated. No one will be left without a kingdom. Now go."** Aqua Regina was starting to fade away. **"You will see the next moves you should make…"**

Sara jerked awake, only to find Gaito sitting next to her.

"I wondered how much longer you would be asleep." Gaito told her.

"Gaito! Where are we?" Sara asked.

"On a beach somewhere… In Japan, from the looks of things." Gaito replied.

"What now?"

"Well, I suggest we find a place to live." Gaito said. He nodded and a beat-up looking house set further up and away from the beach. "Perhaps, if no one is living there, we can use it."

The house was indeed abandoned; there was no sign anyone had bee living there for awhile, and the only things in the house were a few pieces of mostly useless furniture.

Fixing up the place would have been a problem, had it not been for the abundance of gold paraphernalia that could be taken from sunken ships on the bottom of the ocean floor.

The price the gold sold for was enough to buy some paint and furniture and fix up the house. Over the next two days, the two of them made the house livable.

It was evening on the second day when he first saw it. "Huh?" Gaito reached for the bag of gold stuff taken from the bottom of the ocean. Something in it had caught his eye. He dug through the bag until he pulled out the glittering object.

It was a slender gold band set with one single white stone. A diamond.

Gaito stared at the ring. _This couldn't be a- No. Not possible. Still…_

He looked at the ring for a moment longer, then turned to face Sara, who was putting away her painting supplies.

"Sara…" Was as far as he got before the lump in his throat threatened to choke him. He swallowed it down and tried again. "Sara, will you marry me?" He asked as he held out the ring.

For a moment, Sara said nothing, and Gaito began to get worried. But before he could amend what he'd said, she reached out, took the ring from him, and slid it onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Yes. I will." She replied.

* * *

At an archeological dig at a ruined temple in Egypt, an American archeologist called to his comrades, "Hey, come take a look at this." Some of his American and European colleagues hurried over to look at the ornate box that had just been uncovered.

"What is it?" Asked one.

"Looks like a box." Another observed dryly.

"Take it over with the rest of the stuff." A third ordered. "We'll open it later."

No sooner had he said this, then the wind changed and began blowing the opposite direction.

"What's with that?"

"I guess it was just a freak of nature." The American said as he carried to box away. "C'mon, let's get this stuff out of here."

_Did you hear that, Aqua Regina? These stupid humans will be the tools I use to escape from this prison._ _I know you lost your power sealing away the Panthalassa. Well, I still have my power. I still have the red pearl! This time, I will not lose…I believe it's time for round one of this new battle to begin. Allow me to make the first move…_

* * *

Deep in the bottom of the sea, a few fish danced and played around a large orb of light.

Inside the orb, was a creature that largely resembled an angel. He was dressed in white robes, and along with the robes, he was wearing sandals and gold jewelry. He also had two pairs of large, feather-covered white wings on his back. His long hair was pale green, and his eyes were pale blue.

His name was Michel, and he was curled up in the orb of light, tucked deep away in the sea.

"Aww," The mock concern was followed by a cold laugh. "What's the matter, little angel? Are you trying to hide from the world?"

Michel shivered as an eerie sense of cold pervaded his warm home. "Who are you? Who's there?"

"Why does it matter? All that matters is that after your long, self-imposed exile, you've finally got company. Does that worry you?" As he was talking, the speaker walked into view. He was tall, at least 6 feet tall, and dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, black pants, and black boots, along with a short dark gray cloak. His hair, small beard, and eyes were all black. Michel also noticed that he seemed to be only a ghost.

There was an evil glint in his eyes, fitting in with the pervading sense of darkness that seemed to follow him everywhere.

"I am Caos. And judging by your wings, you are one of the Ancient Ones. Tell me, why are you here and not with them?"

Michel just looked away.

Caos laughed. "What, did they leave you behind when they left the Earth?"

Still no answer.

"They did!" Caos raised an eyebrow. "Well. I suppose that would be why you live in this little orb of light, hiding yourself away from the world. Would you like a place to belong?"

"Not for the price you would charge." Michel replied.

"Come, don't turn down the invitation just yet." Caos said. "I need your help to conquer this planet."

"No."

"Listen to me. You want to go back to the Ancient Ones, don't you?" Caos asked.

Michel didn't answer.

"Ah, you do."

"Do not take it upon yourself to put words in my mouth!" Michel snapped, a white aura starting to glow around him. As almost as soon as it had begun, the aura faded away, leaving Michel trembling and clutching his chest.

Caos decided it was time to switch tactics, and shook his head in mock disdain. "It's a shame a creature as strong as you could still be so weak. That's why the Ancient Ones left you. After all, how could they claim one as weak as you? None of the Ancient Ones were ever weak."

Michel didn't answer.

"But I can make you stronger. Then the Ancient Ones will have no choice but to acknowledge you your rightful place."

"Really?" Michel asked.

"Yes." Caos replied. He pulled out a black pill, which he showed to Michel. "This world should mean nothing to you. Agree to help me make it mine, and I will make you strong enough to return to your rightful place. Will you help me?"

Caos knelt down and held the black pill out to Michel. "This will help you with that little…_problem_ of yours. It will help make you stronger. The only stipulation is your helping me. And if you take this, there is no turning back."

Michel hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the pill, which he swallowed.

"Excellent." Caos said as he stood up and turned away.

Michel cried out and clutched his chest as the pain came back, this time multiplied tenfold. "What did you do to me!?"

"Me?" Caos glanced backwards over his shoulder. "I did nothing. You, on the other hand, did everything."

"I beg to differ." Michel replied through clenched teeth. "I didn't make this medicine, which you said would help."

"It will help." Caos told him. "In time. In the meantime, you should rest. The time will come when I will need your help, and it's coming very soon…" Caos finished as he faded away.

Michel was still staring at where Caos had been when Fuku reappeared a moment later.

"Michel-Sama, I thought I sensed someone else was here!" The little human-headed bird said. "Who was it?"

"No one, Fuku. It was no one." Michel replied.

The little bird looked as though he didn't believe it, but he had no other option but to take Michel at his word.

From outside the glowing orb, the ghost of Caos looked back at it.

"Very soon, my friend," He said as he faded away, preparing to return to the prison that had kept him looked up for thousands of years. "It won't be long now…"

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Yay chapter 2! Yeah, the prolouge counts as chapter one. It makes everything easier that way. And what a long chapter this was. Let me see if I remember all my notes...

Michel: Are his wings set on 'shed?' He's always losing feathers. Anyway, I hope I spelled his name right. I almost broke a unwritten rule of writing Pichi stories and romanized his name. And, since his named drives me nuts, I still might. We'll see how long I can stand it first. It's spelled with an "e" in masculine form, right?

Human forms: We all know what Sara's is, but it seems to me that Gaito had a human form that was different than his Panthalassa form. (At least in the manga.) Well, in this story, he looks the same in both his Panthalassa form and his human form.

Shameless plugs: This has nothing to do with my story, but I wanted to share two cool MMPPP stories I found. If you're looking for more Sara/Gaito, I'm not the only one anymore! (But I was still one of the first.) Check out Don't Cry by Mint Pearl Voice. And if you're looking for a fic about Michel, then try Reverie by Big Sister Kitty.

And...that's all I can think of (except _sama_, which is a respectful Japanese title. Anyway...). I hope you all liked this chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought!


	3. Soren's Song

**Never Let You Go**

**Chapter 3: Sooner or Later (Soren's Song)**

**

* * *

**

Come back and haunt me

Follow me home

Give me a motive

Swallow me whole

They said I lost it

What could I know

When I'm but a mockery

I'm so alone…

-Switchfoot, from their song Sooner or Later (Soren's Song)

* * *

"Lucia, you look awful."

That was Hannon's unfeeling sentiment when Lucia walked into the dining room of the Pearl Pairi the next morning.

Lucia frowned at her. "I couldn't sleep. I kept having strange dreams."

She watched as Hippo walked into the room. "Hey, Hippo, what do you about some monster called Caos?"

"Caos!?! He can't be back! Aqua Regina-Sama got rid of him!!" Hippo exclaimed.

"I kept having dreams about this guy called Caos, and all of us princesses, and this ornate carved box that someone opened, and it freed Caos, then all us had to go stop him." Lucia told him.

"This is bad! This is very bad!" The penguin said as he waved his arms in the air.

Lucia wasn't listening anymore. "And Kaito was there too, and he was helping fight…It was so romantic!"

"Lucia!" Hippo shouted. "We have more important things to worry about!"

* * *

Back at the Archeological dig, one of the archeologists was getting ready to open the box.

"Shouldn't you wait for Carl? I mean, after all, he was the one who found the box." Another archeologist asked.

"No," The first one replied. "He said it was alright if we went ahead and opened it." She tugged on the lid of the box. "It won't open. What did they do to this box?"

"Look," The other replied. "It's been sealed shut. We need a crowbar."

He hurried away and returned a moment later with a crowbar, which he rammed into the seal of the box, then pried it open.

The lid of the box flew back, and a blast of eerie glowing blue energy exited straight up from inside the box, sending a gust of wind flying back from it.

**"Yes! The time has come for my return, and this world will fall before me!"** A dark, echoing voice announced as the blue energy gathered itself into a spinning ball.

"As a token of my thanks, allow me to give you a gift…" The light grew brighter until had swallowed up the whole area.

_Ahahahaha! Are you ready for this, Aqua Regina? I know I am!_

* * *

"I thought you girls were helping me get ready for Amagi Rihito and Michal's arrival, not watching my TV." Kaito said as he carried another box into the room.

"I am helping." Lucia complained.

"I know you are, but how about them?" Kaito nodded over his shoulder into the living room, where Hannon and Caren were indeed watching TV.

"Quiet," Caren called to them. "We're trying to watch this."

"A caravan discovered a scene of devastation at Pyrius archeological dig early this afternoon. We've received word that an apparent explosion took place, and several witnesses from a town about seventy miles from the dig claim to have seen an enormous bright light in the sky just prior to hearing the explosion." The female news anchor reported. "Some locals claim it was the ghost of a malevolent spirit sealed away there many thousands of years ago, but official have other ideas about the explosion, including mishandling of explosives used in the dig-"

Caren used the remote to turn the TV off.

"What's wrong?" Hannon asked. "You have the strangest look on your face. Are you worried about Rina and Noel and Coco?"

"No, I'm not worried about them." Caren said absently. "It's just that the news footage they showed in the background while that woman was talking… I saw a piece of a carved box that I saw in my dreams last night."

Lucia dropped the box she was holding and turned to Caren. "Did you have a dream about someone called Caos and his plans to take over the world?"

Caren looked stunned. "How did you know?" She asked.

"Because I had the same dream last night!"

Kaito stared at both of them. "What are the two of you talking about?"

"Yeah." Hannon piped up. "Why don't you let us in on what's going on?"

Lucia briefly related the events of her dream, with Caren adding a few parts.

"So, we're supposed to team up with a bunch of people to try and stop Caos, who the Dark Prince of the Panthalassa sealed away eons ago?" Hannon asked; trying to make sure she got all the fact straight.

"Uh-huh." Lucia and Caren both nodded.

"Maybe we should have Rina and the other cut their trip short and come back to land." Caren said as she stepped over to the window and looked out at the sea.

"They'll be back in a few days." Hannon said. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Well, if we know the doom of the planet isn't imminent; would you like to finish helping me get ready for my guests?" Kaito asked as he picked up the box Lucia had dropped.

"Okay." Hannon said as she picked up a dust cloth from the pile of cleaning supplies on the coffee table.

"So Kaito, tell us about the people coming to stay with you." Lucia said as she watched Kaito pile the boxes by the door.

"Amagi Rihito and his sister Michal? Rihito is one of the greatest orchestra maestros I've ever met. Actually, I met him when I was younger, and my parents invited him to come stay with us if he ever came to Japan." Kaito said as he stood back up. "I'll take those boxes out later. Anyway, he and my parents had a mutual interest in music, and I got a note the other day that said he was coming to the area and if it was convenient, he and his sister would stop by. And then I asked if you wanted to come help me clean, (and I was joking), but you said yes and that's how we got to where we are now."

"Kaito, you're so mean!" Lucia protested.

Teasingly, Kaito stuck his toungue out at Lucia, before opening the door and picking up the boxes to take them outside. "C'mon, we've gotta get back to work."

* * *

While Kaito had been cleaning and getting ready for his guests, his older brother had been working on something else: looking for a job. A small hotel in the nearby twon had had a help wanted sing in the window, and Gaito had deemed it a good place to start looking.

"Well, we do need someone to take over a managerial position, but you seem a little … inexperienced." Kotuo-san, the owner of a hotel in the same town as where Lucia and the others lived, said. "Have you ever held a people management position?"

Gaito, sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk in the office, nodded. _I'm a king, you idiot._ _What do you think I did all day?_ But he didn't say that. Instead he said, "I've had some experience, and I'm sure I could do the job."

"Hmm…" Kotuo mused as he looked over a sheet of paper. "Well, we do need some help. Alright. You can work on a trial basis."

Gaito smiled. "Thank you, Kotuo-san."

"You can start tomorrow."

* * *

She didn't quite understand what this little festival was about, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had an idea how to earn a little money, and she needed a gathering like this to do it.

Sara stepped out from the corner of the building and worked her way through the crowd. In one hand, she held a basket she had taken from the house she now shared with Gaito. He was looking for work, and she had decided to try and earn some money on her own.

She found a spot on the sidewalk, and set the basket down. She then took a deep breath and began to sing.

_The last page of a fairy tale  
has been re-written and changed into tragedy.  
Even for one person's heart who believed in it, it's been lost.  
Love and dreams are nothing more but a sandcastle  
that's short-lived, and breakable, even if you didn't wish it so.  
But even now, I can't forget  
of that song you always used to sing.  
It echoes in my chest, and I feel as if I might return to that day  
Definitely! I can return to it, but right now all it's been is a chain surrounding me that I will shake off.  
Our two worlds are linked together by the blue sea._

She had an audience now. People were stopping to watch, thinking it was part of some performance. She kept singing.

_"Definitely..."  
"Love will conquer all,"  
"The constellations that decide fate can be changed."  
should completely vanish. All it is, is a cowardly lie.  
Like a jewel, the sea which shines bright as it's nursed  
Engulfs everything with kindness and love, and gives seven lives birth and dreams to gaze at.  
So I've come back here.  
I won't lie to myself any longer.  
I have my people to protect, and a world to protect._

"This turned out to be such an interesting day." Lucia mused as she pushed through the crowd. She was anxious to get to get back to Pearl Pairi and meet up with Caren and Hannon. It was a shame Rina, Coco, and Noel had decided to leave and take a trip around the seas, but they would be back soon, and then the six of them could plot how they would defeat Caos.

"But we need a seventh princess." Lucia said. Hanging around her neck was the glass vial Kaito had given her earlier that day, and inside the vial was the orange pearl.

_Flashback_

"_Here, Lucia, if you're going to carry that orange pearl all over the place, you might as well take this." Kaito said as he tossed something at her._

_Lucia caught it. "What's this?" She asked as she turned the small rectangular glass vial over in her hands._

"_I used that to hold your Pink Pearl after you used it to revive me." Kaito told her. "Remember?"_

_Lucia giggled. "Yes, and you wore it at the surf competition where we first met."_

_End flashback_

Lucia sighed. "Being with Kaito makes me so happy."

Suddenly she stopped walking. She heard the faint sound of a familiar song.

_Definitely...  
The invisible distrust between another is a weakness  
to a love with no shape that I want to believe in  
Until I can finally feel the love within my grasp.  
On a bed of ripples, on the morning you woke up  
Everything ended and began again._

It wasn't possible… "Sara!?" Lucia began pushing her way through the crowd even faster.

_My hopes matured, and returned to the sea.  
The bell of happiness rings out as the seven seas shine forth.  
A miracle of love that it causes is what I love most, and as we want to gaze at each other  
we gently kiss._

Sara finished her song. For a moment, no one did anything, then slowly everyone began clapping, and some began tossing coins into her basket.

A girl with dark blonde hair pushed her way through the crowd. But Sara didn't notice her as she picked up her basket and hurried away.

"Sara!" Lucia shouted as she shoved her way through the crowd. But the orange princess either hadn't heard or was ignoring her.

"Sara!" But it was no use. The orange princess was gone.

"Sara." Lucia looked down at the ground as she turned and began to head home.

_Maybe I was wrong. But I could have sworn that was Sara!_

* * *

"You mean at any time you could have returned to this impressive castle and you chose to stay in that little orb of light in the bottom of the ocean?" Caos, once again in his human form, though no longer a ghost, walked through one of the halls of an ancient castle that he had prevailed on Michel to show him.

"How dare you be so disrespectful!" Fuku, however, was one creature it had not taken Caos long to decide he could live without. "Michel-Sama is greater than you could ever hope to be, Caos-Kohai!"

Caos glared at the bird, but said nothing. Michel ignored them both. "Fuku, you can finish showing Caos the castle." He said as he spread his wings and began flying in the opposite direction, back the way they had come.

_I do not care what happens to this world_, He thought to himself as he flew. _I don't belong here. I never did._

"_But inside, you do care!"_

Startled, Michel looked around. No one was there. Caos and Fuku were already gone.

_Great. Now I'm being haunted._ Michel flew over to a window and looked out it, down on the clouds that hid the castle from the world.

"A place ruined by humans. But perhaps Caos will fix that."

"_You know he won't! And you do care what happens to the world!"_

It was a feminine voice, and that of a small child. Michel deduced as he heard the voice again.

"_Inside of you I hear a voice that still wants to hope, still wants to believe in this world!"_

Now immensely irritated, Michel snapped, "That is your own voice you hear, and nothing else! This world has done nothing for me or for _any_ of my kind!"

The conversation was over, as far as he was concerned. And to make sure the conversation stayed finished; he pulled out his flute and began to play it.

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Dangit this was a long chapter. I'm sorry if the chapter seemed a bit choppy. I don't what possesed me to update so fast. But now that I have, let's see if I remeber all my notes (Now with headings underlined for convenience!)...

Song Lyrics: Before I even had a plot for this story, I had already decided I wanted to use some sort of lyrics 'prompt' to help write chapters. This comes partly from the fact that it's a singing shojo manga/anime, and also that the title was inspired by a song. Can you guess which band does the song I named this fic after?

Anyway, the song in chapter 2 was refering to how Gaito was going to put his love on the line and ask Sara to Marry him. In this chapter, the song lyrics refer to Michel, at the end of this chapter. (Come back and haunt me...)

Caos-Kohai!: According to my Del Ray manga, the Japanese title _kohai _is used to describe someone of a lower station. It may not be the right honorific for the task, but I wanted to show what Fuku really thinks of Caos, so Fuku refers to Michel as Michel-Sama and Caos as Caos-Kohai. (Caos, by the way, does not appreciate that.)

Michel Angst: I didn't get to put any in this chapter, but I want some of this too so I'm adding it of my list of goals for this story. So now we have that, and the SaraXGaito.

Sara's Song: That was the English version of Sara's character song, Return to the Sea. Apparently, the version I used comes from lyricsmania (.) com. I recommend you look the song up on YouTube sometime, it's pretty cool.

I want some Michel angst, and some chocolate milk, but since we don't have either I'll have to settle for re-reading _Reverie_ and having some white milk. Oh well. Please read and review, and it makes me very happy when you do. ^^


	4. Second Chance

**Never Let You Go**

**Chapter 4: Second Chance**

* * *

_Tell my mother, tell my father, I've done the best I can_

_To make them realize this is my life, I hope they understand_

_I'm not angry, I'm just saying, sometimes goodbye is a second chance_

_Sometimes goodbye is a second chance._

- Shinedown, from the song 'Second Chance'

* * *

The next day dawned bright and clear, a perfect morning for some surfing.

That, Kaito decided, was just what he would do, and he spent nearly two hours that morning the riding the waves. Eventually, though, he got tired and decided to head back to his house to get some breakfast.

Holding his surfboard under his arm, he cut across the beach and headed across a road and back to his house. But he stepped back onto the sidewalk, he noticed in the few people milling about, was someone familiar….

No, that couldn't be right. He told himself. It wasn't possible.

Then the figure stopped for a red light, and Kaito got a better view.

And _knew_.

"Gaito!" Dropping his surfboard, he darted after the figure, who had silver hair and a long coat just like Gaito always wore. "Gaito!"

The Panthalassa pushed his way through the crowd, trying to catch up with the sea king, but it was no use.

Lucia would have sworn she'd seen Sara, and now he'd just seen Gaito.

"We can't both be going crazy." He alleged. "They're back. But how? And why?"

He mind full of questions he couldn't answer, Kaito turned and headed back the way he'd come, hoping no one had stolen his surfboard while he was gone.

Gaito watched as his brother walked away. _Perhaps we will meet again, brother, but now is not the time._ And with that, he continued on his way.

* * *

Sara was out taking a walk and enjoying the morning. Gaito had left and wouldn't be back until later that afternoon, and she was trying to figure out a few things she thought they might need.

She was so focused on her thoughts she failed to notice another girl, engrossed in her book, walking straight towards her. A minute later the two bumped into each other, and the book was knocked out of the other girl's hand, heading straight towards a puddle of water on the ground from last night's rain.

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Sara reached out and grabbed the book, stepping into the puddle of water as she did. She hastily pulled her foot out, tossed the book at the girl, and then used the hem of her dress to dry her foot off.

"I wasn't expecting you to do that." The girl said as she caught her book. "I'm sorry; I should have been watching where I was going."

"Don't worry about it." Sara said. She hadn't transformed; she must not have been wet long enough.

And that was just fine with her.

"But I feel so bad that you got wet and got your nice dress dirty. If you come with me, I can at least help you get your dress cleaned up." The girl continued.

Sara considered it. "Alright."

"Great." The girl smiled. "By the way, I'm Inari."

"Sara."

"Nice to meet you, Sara. Follow me. The shop I work at is just around the corner, and I can get your dress cleaned there."

* * *

"Lucia."

"Lucia."

"Huh? Where am I?" The Pink pearl princess wondered as she looked around at what appeared to be undersea plants and ocean fish. "What is this?

"Lucia."

"Who's there?" The mermaid asked.

Then she saw the glowing gold sphere with a little orange mermaid inside it.

"Are you the heiress to the orange pearl?" Lucia asked. But the gold sphere was gone as quickly as it came, leaving Lucia with more questions than answers.

"Lucia!! Wake up!!"

Lucia jerked awake to see Hanon and Caren standing next to her bed.

Caren crossed her arms over her chest. "If you're going to go to the train station with Kaito to meet his guests, you'd better hurry and get ready to go. You've got twenty minutes to get ready."

"Twenty minutes?!" In a flash, Lucia was out of bed and digging clothes out of her closet. "I'll be ready in ten."

* * *

From the very top of one of the castles in his tower, Michel watched the sunrise over the clouds. Somewhere inside the castle, Caos was making his plans for the first part of his attack.

"_You seem so lonely. Why do you still stay here?"_

"Because I have nowhere else to go." Michel replied, annoyed. The same voice from earlier was back. "Who are you?"

"_I'm Seira. I'm an orange mermaid."_

"What are you doing?" Michel demanded.

"_Waiting to be born."_ Now there was a strange statement if the angel had ever heard one. _"You play the flute very well."_ Seira said.

Michel didn't reply. After another moment the spirit Seira gave up and turned away. _"I guess you want to be alone right now. That's okay, I'll come back later." _With that she vanished, leaving the angel alone with his thoughts.

**XXX**

In a room in the castle, Caos was talking to his minions; tall, dark, faceless monsters.

"My children," Caos began, enjoying the whole situation a little too much. "Today, we make our first strike against the humans and through them against the one who locked us away, never see freedom again. Today your mission is simple. We are going to kidnap one simple human hybrid; but the power this hybrid has is great. It will be an asset to us in our plans!"

The creatures roared in response.

Caos smiled. "Now, let us begin."

* * *

While all this had been going on, Sara had followed Inari back to a dress shop.

"You work here?" Sara asked as she glanced at the rows and mannequins of designer dresses.

"Yep. My job is to sell people fancy dresses for special occasions. I do shoes and purses too." Inari replied. "Come on; we've got a dryer in the back room, and I can get your dress dried there."

The orange mermaid followed the girl into the back room, where there was indeed a washer and dryer set.

"You can change out of your dress over there." Inari pointed out a changing screen and got Sara a robe.

"Thank you, I will take care of your dress now." The girl said the girl said a moment later as Sara came out and handed over her dress. She took the dress over to the sink and began to rinse the mud stain off the hem.

"So what are these back here for?" Sara asked as she noticed a rack dresses. She reached over to feel the material of a dress done in black, orange, and yellow.

"Some of them are new that have yet to be put out, and some of them have to go over to the discount rack." Inari explained. She wrung as much water as she could out of the dress, then tossed it into the dryer. She added a bit of fabric softener and set the dryer to small load. "That will be done in about twenty minutes." She announced, then asked, "So, are you new in town?"

"In a manner of speaking. I've been here before, but I think I'm here to stay this time." Sara replied.

"It's a nice place to live, even if weird things do happen sometimes. Storms the just appear out of the blue, and couple of weeks ago we had some kind of giant castle appear in the middle of the sea. Now, that was strange." Inari moved over to the rack of dresses and began to sort them out. "But everything seems to have gotten better, so who knows. Maybe it was just an illusion."

"Maybe," Sara agreed, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable.

"So, what were you going to do before we bumped into each other?" Inari asked, unaware of Sara's discomfort.

"I was going to look at some paint; it's peeling in the kitchen and I can't stand it. And I was going to see if I could learn how to cook." Sara replied, glad for the change in subject.

"Oh, you should wait until I get off work. I can help you with the cooking part. I love to cook." Inari said as she moved some of the dresses to a different rack. The new ones would be put up for sale next week. "It's a half day so I get off at noon today. Anyway, I'll be right back, I've got to move theses dresses to the discount rack.

Sara reached over and took the same black and orange dress she'd looked at earlier off the rack. "This is a discount?"

"Yep. We've had it here for six months and we couldn't sell it." Inari confirmed.

Sara held it up. It looked about her size. "How much is it?"

"13590 yen." Inari replied. "It used to be 25110."

"Can I try it on?"

"Sure, if you want too. I'll go take these other dresses to the discount rack, and if you want you can come out to the dressing room and look at the dress in the full length mirrors." Inari pulled the rolling rack out to the front room, and Sara ducked back behind the screen and tried it on. It fit perfectly.

She headed out to the front room. Over in one corner of the building were a couple of dressing rooms and the full-length mirrors. She studied how the dress looked on her.

"That dress looks perfect on you." Inari said in awe.

"I do like it."

Sensing hesitation, Inari said, "You could put in on layaway if you want."

"And that is…?"

"When you pay for it little by little instead of all at once."

The mermaid considered it. She did still have some money left over from her street performance the other day. What would Gaito think if she decided to buy a dress? What would Gaito think if he saw the dress? O rmore importantly, her in the dress?

Sara made up her mind. "Can you put this dress away for me? I'll be back with a down payment tomorrow."

* * *

A long whistle blast informed everyone that the train was entering the station. Lucia suddenly felt extremely nervous, wondering who these friends of Kaito's parents were.

Kaito was out on the platform, and Hanon and Caren were sitting with Lucia in the waiting room. Both were flipping through magazines.

"Come on guys, we'd better go out there with Kaito. We are here to meet his guests." Lucia said as she stood up.

"Alright." Hanon said as she put her magazine down and stood up. Caren followed suit, and the three of them headed for the platform. None of them knew that hiding around the train station were Caos' minions and that hiding in a tree just across from the station was Caos himself.

"Well, it looks as if the dear girl has finally made it here." Caos observed. "I can't wait to give her the kind of welcome she deserves." With a flick of the wrist and quick flash of light, he quickly cast in illusion over himself.

One that looked exactly like Michel.

"Of course, impersonating people is the best part of the job." Caos said with a smile. "And so it begins."

Back on the platform, Lucia watched as people filed off the train, collecting belongs and heading into the building. She looked at Kaito but he was looking at the train, which only meant that whoever he was looking for hadn't gotten off yet.

The train was nearly empty before she saw a wide grin come over Kaito's face.

"Rihito!" He waved his arms to try and get the older man's attention. "Over here."

Rihito smiled and headed towards Kaito, followed by a younger girl and an older man. "Kaito, it's good to see you again." Rihito said. "I was so sorry to hear about your parents. It was a tragic loss to the world of music."

Kaito nodded. Rihito went on. "I'd like you to meet my younger sister Michal, and my manager, Makabe-san."

"Nice to meet you, Michal-chan, Makabe-san." Kaito said. He grabbed Lucia's hand and pulled her over to him. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Lucia, and her friends Hanon and Caren." He pointed out the other two mermaids. "They helped me get everything ready when I knew you were coming."

"It's nice to meet you, Lucia-chan, Hanon-chan, Caren-san." Rihito said.

"I see you've got all your bags already." Kaito said, noticing all the bags Makabe-san was holding. "I've arranged for a taxi."

"Maestro, I'll take the bags out there then." Makabe said, then moved into the train station.

Then when was when Caos decided to drop in.

The platform was deserted, no one was around except the Amagis, Kaito and the mermaids. And then Caos's minions dropped to the platform around them, followed by Caos who was still disguised as Michel."

"Good morning." Caos said with a wicked smile. "I'm here to claim a very important source of power, the pure heart of a half-Panthalassa." He gave Michal a cruel smile.

"Who are you?" Rihito demanded. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"I want her." Caos idly pointed at Michal and ignored the rest of the questions. "And I'm going to take her."

His Dark Guards moved to grab Michal.

"Like we're actually gonna let you do that." Caren taunted. "Purple Pearl Voice!"

"Pink Pearl Voice!"

"Aquamarine Pearl Voice!"

Rihito watched in amazement as the three girls transformed. Just what the heck was going on around here?

"Pichi Pichi Voice live start!" The mermaids began their song.

"_The rainbow wind, blows at the far off coast. Before dawn there was a melody I heard. It's a very nostalgic song._

"_The birds that fly, towards the eastern sky, now escape, to the treasure island using this shortcut._

"_Where the paradise of the seven seas lies, after the night of the storm; another life is born only to pass love along._

"_Even if a day comes when everyone journeys away from here, _

_"As long as we have the melody of the seven countries, I'll never forget!"_

"Love Shower Pitch! Would You Like an encore?" The mermaids offered.

Caos threw his head back and laughed. "Yes. Yes I would like an encore. If you need me, I'll be performing a kidnapping while you sing all the worthless songs you want. Get her!" He ordered his guards.

They hurried to comply.

"Leave her alone!" Kaito ordered, the glowing sigil on his head sending out a wave of powerful energy.

It knocked Caos back, but wasn't enough to stop him. "You're good, Prince," He spat out the title as though it was an insult. "But even you need to get better." A moment later he was gone, and Michal was gone with him.

"Michal!!" Rihito looked around frantically. "Michal! Where are you?"

"Don't bother." Kaito said bitterely. "She's gone."

"Who kidnapped her?" Rihito demanded. He glanced at the mermaids. "How did they transform? And what is that thing on your forehead?"

Kaito sighed. It was gonna be a long morning.

* * *

"What a day." Caren sighed. After dropping Rihito off at Kaito's house and explaining everything except the fact the girls were mermaids, they had left Rihito worrying around his music and come out to the beach to relax.

"That must be that Caos guy I dreamed about." Lucia said. "I hope he doesn't hurt Michal."

"Looks like the next battle is on." Hanon said.

"I hope Coco and Rina and Noel get back soon." Caren replied.

There was a rumble of thunder, and a cloud overhead started to sprinkle rain down on them.

"Oh no we're gonna get wet!" Lucia wailed. There were still people out on the beach, even though most of them were starting to pack up.

"Follow me; I know where we can go." Kaito grabbed his surfboard. "There's a deserted house up the beach, we can stay there until the rain blows over."

The three mermaids followed him up the beach until they came to the house. If they had been paying attention they may have noticed that the house didn't look so deserted anymore, the outside had a new coat of paint and a broken window had been repaired.

But they didn't notice, and simply burst in through the front door.

Inside, they found Gaito sitting at a table in the kitchen, and Sara about to put a bowl of rice on said table. Both of them turned to see who had burst in through their front door.

And there was dead silence.

* * *

**T.A.R.N.S.:** Bwa ha! Cliffhanger!!! I apoligize for the delay in getting this written and posted. It took some time, I cut out the whole 'explain everything to Rihito' thing and it still ran on for eight pages in MS Word.

Lots of things happened here. We had that nasty cliffhanger right there at the end. I didn't know Sara was going to put a down payment on that dress, or, even see it, for that matter. Inari is going to be a minor character and I'm sure she'll show up again. I wasn't expecting Caos to impersonate Michel, either. Huh. We got all sorts of things here I never expected to happen.

If things seem to be moving slowly, just bear with me, okay? This is going to be a long term story (especially because I only write fanfics on Saturday and have normal life the rest of the week.) This chapter here took like two weeks to get done. Also, if the yen thing is wrong... it's not my fault. I used to Google to tell me the exchange rates and then I had to use a calculator to figure it out. So I guess that does make it my fault, but still. Just roll with it. I think in dollars, not yen. -.-

Anyway, on to more important things. The song prompt for this chapter (am I allowed to use song lyrics as prompts? I know songfics aren't allowed, how about prompts?) Is Second Chance by Shinedown. This time I'm kind of refering to how Gaito and Sara said their goodbye, and then they got a second chance, so thier goodbye was thier second chance. Or something like that. I see no one could guess which band does the song _Never Let You Go_. It's done by Third Eye Blind.

Well, I think that's everything. I think. I forgot everything else was going to say, so I'll just call it quits for now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters, and please review this one!


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